


An Un-Vulcan Proposal

by The Space Bard (GraceJordan)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Implied Spirk, Jealousy, M/M, Vulcan Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24877525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraceJordan/pseuds/The%20Space%20Bard
Summary: Spock is annoyed by the fact that T'Pring is madly in love with Michael Burnham, but when she is struggling to catch his sister's attention, he makes quite the surprising proposal...
Relationships: Michael Burnham/T'Pring
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	An Un-Vulcan Proposal

“Is Michael home currently?”

While Spock was not surprised to see T’Pring in his entry hall, he did not appreciate it. Especially when his parents were out on the absurd “date night” that his mother enforced and Michael was not here to deal with the problem she herself caused. 

Instead, he was forced to abandon his physics problems to face the over-eager Vulcan. Tucking his hands behind his back, Spock gave her a curt shake of his head. “No. She is at the Academy studying for her exams.”

“Oh.” Though her face stayed composed, the fact her hands were twining in front of her, much more meek and anxious, said all that needed to be said about the effect Michel Burnham had on the young katra student. However, throughout it all her shoulders remained stiff and her posture strong. 

He had to admit, after the fifteenth time of Michael doing this to her, T’Pring had quite the persistent resolve. After a quick scan of the entry room around him (where she would find no sign of Michael), T’Pring said, “I told her I would be coming by, but she neglected to inform me of her prior engagement.”

It almost made him snort, a terrible childhood habit he had before his father taught him to mask his lingering human emotions. How could he not feel the urge to laugh, though? If Spock was forced to keep track of all of Michael’s shirked engagements, he would not be a scientist but an exhausted personal assistant in need of a new occupation.

Instead, he expressed his thoughts simply: “Michael neglects many things.” Like every time before, when he watched his mother sympathetically usher the affected Vulcan out of their home because Michael was always elsewhere, he expected T’Pring to be making her exit. 

However, his eyes met hers and she stood stiff, her hands now at her sides. “Why are you remaining in our home? Your mission to court my adopted sister has once again failed.” 

The edges of T’Pring’s eyes winced at “failed”, but she put her hands behind her back, tilted her head up to look at Spock, and stayed strong. She had to be, to be infatuated with a frustrating human like his sister. In one rushed breath, she said, “I am attempting to assess what I am doing wrong.” 

“Indeed?”

“I have done all the steps of courtship. I have made my intentions clear, I have complimented her strengths and suggested ways to improve her weaknesses, and even discussed our compatibility with my mentors. The only one who does not seem impressed with the match is Michael herself.” 

Spock could not help but look around the room himself, at the lack of Michael in it all. The walls of windows, the clean lines- they needed to look as Vulcan as possible. Humanity was hidden back in Michael and Amanda’s rooms and, even then, were shut behind dressers or under beds. He could not count how many copies of Alice in Wonderland and other classic human tales his mother had hidden throughout the covered nooks of their home. It made sense that T’Pring would not understand how guarded their family was, being the only blended lineage in the Vulcan public eye. 

And it was clear humanity was an even further concept from her understanding. Though, Spock could hardly blame her. 

Flexing his fingers behind him, getting stiff from how tightly wound they’d gotten, Spock explained, “She is but a human, T’Pring.” When T’Pring cocked her head, he tried to keep the complexities of humanity simple. “My mother says that humans do not find matches, they fall in love.” 

T’Pring did not get the point, squinting her large, black eyes. “Is that a ritual or ceremony I must undertake? Because I am quite strong and have been told I have flawless logic, so I could face anything her human customs might require.”

“My apologies. It is an expression. Humans do not court as we do or choose bondmates based on compatibility. They make such choices from illogical feelings of “love”.” 

After he said that, T’Pring got quiet. And more interesting, she brought her arms in front of her and crossed them, a gesture he’d only seen his mother do in moments of great frustration. Though her face gave nothing away, her forearm muscles twitched before she said, “You say the word love like Vulcans do not have it, but love is more than just a feeling. It is comfort and companionship and choice. Michael’s existence encourages me to be a better Vulcan, so our coupling is merely logical.” 

“I must admit, your reasoning appears to be sound.” Acknowledging that the base of his skull was tightening and twisting at the sight of her arms, so human in expression, Spock gestured to them with a raised eyebrow. When T’Pring did not seem to comprehend, he gently unwound them, saying, “No matter how she excels in her studies, Michael does not operate on logic. Not as much as she likes others to perceive.” 

But when her arms fell to her sides, her shoulders hunched, her fingers twirled together, and if he did not know better he swore he could have seen uncontrollable disappointment ripple through her. “That would be a significant obstacle in our relationship... However I would like to figure out how to overcome it.”  
While most of the exchange was tiresome and unnecessary at best, seeing T’pring like this... It made something snap in Spock. 

After all, he’d live his entire life a freak. He knew kindredness when he saw it. The similarities did not comfort him, but he could not watch her crumble before him. It was unbearably familiar. 

If only his “beloved” adopted sister was not so dense. 

Sighing, Spock said, “I agree that you and Michael would be a good match. You both take intellectual endeavors quite seriously and respect Vulcan customs, even if you both are known to disobey orders if it so pleases you. You are spiritual and patient, where she is dominant and stubborn. Granted, you are stubborn in your own ways as well. There are many complementary traits between you two. She may even find you attractive; she does not avoid you as much as other Vulcans I know. However, none of that changes the fact that Michael is not exactly open to others right now. It is best you look elsewhere.”

There. He did it. If T’Pring had a good Vulcan bone in her body, she would take that warning and apply her flawless logic to it and walk away. 

The children of Sarek were trouble incarnate (indeed, too much of it to justify) and it was easier for her to learn this way. 

Much to his shock, though, when he moved to let her out, T’Pring blocked the door and looked up at him with more seriousness than ever before. Her ears were perked, her lips were unwavering, her eyes unblinking. The only thing that gave her disposition away was the slight green tint to her cheeks. 

With an even-tone, she told him, “If I do not bond with Michael, my family will start to search for a bondmate on their own. And I do not wish that person to be anyone but her.” Her arms tried to float back into that crossed position, but she took a deep breath and tucked them behind her back, as she should. Spock was fascinated by the dichotomy of her existence, and even admired it. “Perhaps that is illogical, however-”

As that admiration struck his core, accomplishing strength in all her illogical motions, Spock felt the words come out of his mouth before he could think them all the way through. “I would be willing to offer myself as your bondmate.”

“What?”

Inhaling, Spock doubled down on his offer the longer he thought about it. It could work, correct? “If you truly want to wait for Michael, despite the situation being so difficult, then I will take you as my bondmate.” He shook his head when her eyebrow raised, assuming the more... intimate aspects that gave her pause. To give her credit, they gave him pause, too. No one ever caught his interest enough to elicit any inclination towards it, and particularly not his adopted sister’s would-be paramour. “We do not have to consummate anything until one of us reaches our maturational Pon Farr which should give you ample time to truly make every case possible to Michael.” Not meeting T’Pring’s eyes, he thought of what person he might be bonded to and no one interested him as much as the stars did. “Besides, my father has started to search for my bondmate as well, and to say I’m uninterested is an... understatement.”

After his words deafened the air for a minute, T’Pring said, “Fascinating. I never assumed that the son of Sarek would be rebellious.”

He rolled his eyes before he could stop himself. “It is not rebelling, it is purely logical. We are both adults who have direction and ambition in life and do not want to be distracted by the complex process of bond-mating. Despite your affinity for Michael, you want to be involved in religion sciences, do you not?”

T’Pring stood straight and tall, her hands more confidently held the Vulcan way. “You are correct.”

“And I want to explore the stars beyond Vulcan. Bond-mating would discourage your increased studies and my scientific endeavors. This sort of engagement makes sense for the both of us.” 

“It gives both my career and my relationship an encouraging probability of success. By all logic, I must accept your proposal. Perhaps even if Michael’s human emotions are predictable, and you are correct in thinking she could have affection for me, she will develop the jealousy that the ambassadors chastise.” Though she tried to remain coy, T’Pring added, with the wisp of a smile, “I would find it quite fascinating.”

Every time Spock looked at T’Pring, he became more befuddled. How did such a logical, spiritual young Vulcan become so hopelessly enamored with his brooding, stand-off-ish, and difficult sister? The notion of “love” was riddled with absurdities. It was how someone with flawless logic ended up in knots in an entryway or his perfect father ended up on “date nights”. 

Perhaps he had to accept he’d never understand the kind of person who fell in love with a human. 

Instead, he just shook his head. “The fact you find Michael fascinating is fascinating in itself,” he said, adding, “But I will not refuse a good plan of action.” 

“Good. Then we will inform our parents of the proposal. I will draft a report summary that you may look over and we can present it together tomorrow evening.” As she began to walk out their large front door, finally, T’Pring practically hopped on her toes when looking back at him over her shoulder. She had this expression of satisfaction and contentment that he had only ever seen on religious figureheads. Admittedly, that was exactly her career path. He did not like the playfulness to her bounce or words, however. “Oh, you may also use our arrangement to court any human you might become interested in.”

And before he could respond, she was gone.

On his own, Spock furrowed his brow at her offer while opening his book back to the physics work-set he had abandoned. “Me? Interested in a human? Hardly plausible.”

**Author's Note:**

> I finally wrote SOMETHING. I've been going through a lot but this was fun. Hope to see y'all again soon enough <3


End file.
